Console Corner: Dead Island Definitive Collection review

Dead Island has risen from the ... dead... but has new life been breathed into it?

The popular zombie apocalypse action role-playing game has been remastered for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One under the title Dead island Definitive Collection.

It bundles the game with Riptide, all DLC, and a cool 16-bit side-scrolling game called Dead Island: Retro Revenge.

But is the re-release justified or are some things better left dead?

Well the first thing to say is that Dead Island, as you would expect, has never looked better.

Techland have used the brilliant graphics engine from the excellent Dying Light.

It makes for a much glossier, slicker looking game but that’s not to say DI necessarily runs better now than it did in the original releases.

Another huge positive about the Definitive Collection is just how much content you get for your money.

It is packed full with more than 35 hours of gameplay all told, which is impressive for any title.

The obvious comparisons with its cousin Dying Light are there when you play this remastered collection.

But while the graphics are improved, the shiny aesthetic tweaks do take away from the zombie horror feel somewhat, something DL mastered so brilliantly.

The retro beat-em-up - aptly named Retro Revenge - which is included is the real triumph here, though. It’s a lane brawling game and is great fun, if highly repetitive. And at the risk of sounding repetitive myself, that is DI’s biggest single problem.

The mundane nature of the gameplay holds the game back given the melee combat in DI is still right up there with the very best in gaming.

To me DI Definitive Collection is ideal for those who perhaps missed out on the originals and will get all the content in one hit but even with the graphic tweaks and Retro Revenge doesn’t quite do enough to really reward the returning gamer, of which I am one.